Ducati men share the wins on Monday at Cadwell Park BSB

2023 British Superbike Championship
Round Eight – Cadwell Park

Images by David Yeomans Photography

Summary

Glenn Irwin completed a winning double in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship round at Cadwell Park to almost half his BeerMonster Ducati team-mate’s advantage at the top of the standings with 16 riders remaining in mathematical title contention ahead of the Showdown.

Irwin came into the final round of the Main Season trailing Bridewell by 26.5 points and after a dominant double and a second place, he heads to Oulton Park in Cheshire with just a 14.5-point deficit.

However, with the points’ value now increasing across the Showdown, the top 16 riders in the standings, completed by rookie Max Cook, remain in contention with a maximum of 255 points available across the final three rounds.

The annual August Bank Holiday round in Lincolnshire produced three intense races, and whilst the BeerMonster Ducati pairing were victorious, six riders celebrated podium finishes across the weekend for four different teams.

Irwin had got his weekend off to a flying start with his first Cadwell Park race win in the BikeSocial Sprint race on Sunday, holding off the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha pairing of Kyle Ryde and Ryan Vickers to celebrate in style his 200th Bennetts BSB race start.

In race two, Irwin was focused on a repeat performance and after running eighth in the early stages, he was into second by the final lap. He then made a move on Ryde at Coppice to take the lead, which he held to the chequered flag with his LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha rival, and McAMS Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran completing the podium line up.

In the final race of the Main Season, Ryde and Irwin were again fighting for the lead in the early stages of the race, but the final eight laps became a freight train of five riders who ended the race covered by less than a second.

Bridewell took the lead from Irwin with three laps remaining and was able to deny his teammate the treble, and there were celebrations for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team who completed the podium with Leon Haslam. Ryde, Lee Jackson and O’Halloran just missed out, as the top five ended the race separated by 0.947s.

Bridewell and Irwin remain at the top of the standings, with Ryde, O’Halloran and Haslam the leading five contenders ahead of Oulton Park as four teams feature in the top five ahead of the opening round of the Showdown on September 15/16/17.

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Superbike Race Two

At the start of the race, Ryan Vickers got a lightning start to lead the pack into Coppice on the opening lap ahead of Leon Haslam and Storm Stacey, but the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha rider was instantly on the attack.

Haslam grabbed the advantage on the brakes at the end of Park, but Vickers retaliated on the same lap to regain the position at the Hairpin.

Vickers was holding the advantage until he crashed out of the lead on lap seven, handing the advantage to Haslam and Ryde with Lee Jackson moving ahead of Storm Stacey.

Haslam was leading until the tenth lap when Jackson had carved his way through to take the lead with a move at Coppice, which also handed second to Ryde.

Ryde then was attacking for the lead and on lap 14, he made his move on the brakes at Park, but Irwin was closing in and had moved his way into third after running eighth at the end of the first lap.

Irwin was into second by lap 16 and then he only had Ryde ahead of him. The BeerMonster Ducati rider continued to pile on the pressure and he made a decisive move at Coppice on the final lap to take the lead before a determined final lap gave him the second win of the weekend.

Ryde held onto second as O’Halloran moved through to third including a move on Jackson, which involved contact between the pair on the penultimate lap.

Haslam held on to take fourth with championship leader Tommy Bridewell completing the top five ahead of Jackson who dropped down the order after the contact.

Christian Iddon was seventh ahead of Josh Brookes and Stacey with Tom Neave completing the top ten for Honda Racing UK.

Superbike Race Two Results

Superbike Race Three

At the start of the race, Storm Stacey hit the front on the pack from Leon Haslam and Kyle Ryde, but the pack was instantly shuffling. On the opening lap, Haslam grabbed the lead with Ryde pushing Stacey back into third.

Whilst Haslam and Ryde held the leading two positions, double race winner Irwin was into third by lap tree and then was pushing to make it a treble victory for BeerMonster Ducati.

Bridewell was evidentially more comfortable on the second BeerMonster Ducati in the final race and he was soon just behind his team-mate.

On lap five, Ryde had taken the lead with a move on Haslam at the Hairpin and a lap later, the BeerMonster Ducati pairing had moved ahead of the ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team rider to push him back to fourth.

Irwin was back in front by lap eight, making a pass on the brakes at the end of Park. However, Bridewell soon was ready to attack after pushing into second with a move on Ryde at Coppice a lap later.

Irwin was holding the position, but Bridewell was determined and he hit the front of the pack for the first time this weekend with a move on the brakes into Park with three laps remaining. The championship leader then had the edge to the chequered flag, but his advantage has been reduced to 14.5 points over Irwin ahead of the Showdown.

Haslam meanwhile celebrated a podium finish for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team after Ryde dropped back to fourth, with Lee Jackson and Jason O’Halloran completing the leading freight train of riders in race three.

Christian Iddon had a lonely seventh place finish just ahead of Josh Brookes and Stacey with Peter Hickman completing the top ten.

Superbike Race Three Results

British Superbike Championship Points

The next round of the BSB series takes place at Oulton Park, September 15-17